Our sweet, funny little man just turned 2! We hosted a party at our house for our friends and family and had a few of Oliver’s friends over too. I love using literary themes for kids birthday parties as there are so many personal touches you can make with them. Last year, I picked “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” by Eric Carle for his first birthday … Continue reading Little Blue Truck Birthday Party
A few months back, I borrowed a copy of Ina Garten’s “Make It Ahead” from our local library to get some ideas for entertaining that can be made ahead with little fuss right before serving. Overall, she had some recipes that looked great, but I only found a few recipes that fit what I was looking for. One of those recipes was for a Truffled … Continue reading Truffled Chicken Liver Mousse
I had an amazing time planning and celebrating Half Pint Garden’s kick off party this past weekend! We had nearly 50 people attending and I’m thrilled everything turned out so well. Here are a sampling of photos from the event, taken by our amazing neighbor, Michelle, of Sweet Lime Portrait Design in Arlington, VA! Continue reading Harvest Party Photo Gallery
A few years ago, The Washington Post posted a recipe for 12-Hour Tomatoes. I tried the recipe once and was hooked. They develop such a deep, rich flavor after spending all those long hours roasting at a low heat. These are so versatile and can be used in so many ways. I’ve used them as a topping to a baguette smeared with fresh ricotta, mixed … Continue reading Slow Roasted Tomatoes
After months of putting up jar after jar of jams and jellies, I head in to fall looking to make sure I have some preserves that are more versatile and can be used for more savory winter cooking. I came across a recipe for Caramelized Red Onion Relish in Marisa McClellan’s book “Food in Jars”. She recommends pairing this relish with ricotta or goat cheese … Continue reading Caramelized Red Onions
I recently spent an amazing couple of days at the King Arthur Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vermont. My friend, Natashe, and I took a jam and baking course there with Cathy Barrow, of Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Kitchen and author of “Mrs. Wheelbarrow’s Practical Pantry”. The facilities were great and the King Arthur staff were attentive, friendly and so helpful. And I was kind of like … Continue reading Jammin’ and Bakin’ in Vermont
This past weekend, Toby’s friend, and best man at our wedding, Chuckie, was in town from New York so we invited him over for dinner, along with our friends Matt and Jessica. Because we’ll be traveling over the next few weekends, I wanted to create a menu that focused on late summer produce since it will likely feel more fall-like when we return home. I … Continue reading Menu – Grilled Sausages and Salmon, Braised Green Beans in Tomatoes, Grilled Vegetables and Mushrooms, Plum Tart
We recently hosted our neighbors over for a late summer dinner on our back patio. Since they have two boys, I wanted to do a menu of finger foods that were easy to snack on as we chatted. The menu worked perfectly and everyone was free to just help themselves to whatever they wanted and it was so easy to put together. And dessert was … Continue reading Menu – Grilled Chicken Skewers, Pepperoni Sauce, Cherry Tomato Mozzarella Bites, S’mores Bar
After devoting much of my summer garden space to tomatoes in previous years, I scaled back my tomato plantings to just a small section. I planted a couple Early Girls, which are doing pretty good, a yellow pear tomato (which has been a bust for me for the second year now) and a cherry tomato plant. By the time I planted the seedlings I picked … Continue reading Spiced Cherry Tomato Jam
I love apricot season in the summer! Apricots are really easy to work with in canning as you don’t have to tediously peel all the fruit, like many canning recipes for peaches. This is a great starter recipe if you are new to canning because its fairly straightforward and the jam comes together really nicely with a short time on the burner. This comes from one … Continue reading Apricot Rosemary Jam
Half Pint Garden 